Passes the Bechdel test
The Shape of Water
2017. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, written by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
11 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 177. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
From master storyteller Guillermo del Toro comes THE SHAPE OF WATER, an otherworldly fable set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa's life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Doug Jones.
- Released
- 22 Dec 2017
- Genres
- Drama, Fantasy, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 87 / 100
- Awards
- Won 4 Oscars. 138 wins & 350 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Strickland 170 lines, man
- Giles 112 lines, man
- Zelda 92 lines, woman
- Hoffstetler 89 lines, man
- Fleming 31 lines, man
- Mihalkov 29 lines, man
- Pie Guy 26 lines, man
- General Hoyt 18 lines, man
- Bernie 15 lines
- Elaine 13 lines, woman
Full cast, 39 people
- Sally Hawkins as Elisa Esposito
- Michael Shannon as Richard Strickland
- Richard Jenkins as Giles
- Octavia Spencer as Zelda Fuller
- Michael Stuhlbarg as Dr. Robert Hoffstetler
- Doug Jones as Amphibian Man
- David Hewlett as Fleming
- Nick Searcy as General Hoyt
- Stewart Arnott as Bernard
- Nigel Bennett as Mihalkov
- Lauren Lee Smith as Elaine Strickland
- Martin Roach as Brewster Fuller
- Allegra Fulton as Yolanda
- John Kapelos as Mr. Arzounian
- Morgan Kelly as Pie Guy
- Marvin Kaye as Burly Russian
- Dru Viergever as Military Policeman
- Wendy Lyon as Sally (Secretary)
- Cody Ray Thompson as Guard
- Diego Fuentes as Worker
- Madison Ferguson as Tammy Strickland
- Jayden Greig as Timmy Strickland
- Karen Glave as African American Wife
- Danny Waugh as African American Husband
- Dan Lett as Cadillac Salesman
- Deney Forrest as Lou
- Brandon McKnight as Duane
- Clyde Whitham as Wet Cinema Patron
- Jonelle Gunderson as Bus Passenger #1
- Cameron Laurie as Bus Passenger #2
- Evgeny Akimov as Russian Band
- Sergey Nikonov as Russian Band
- Vanessa Oude-Reimerink as Russian Band
- Alexey Pankratov as Russian Band
- Dave Reachill as Scientist (uncredited)
- Amanda Smith as Mrs. Peabody (uncredited)
- Maxine Grossman as Bus Passenger (uncredited)
- Matthew MacCallum as Shoe Store Owner (uncredited)
- Victoria Charters as Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 177
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 to 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 to 16 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 to 20 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 to 24 | 11 | 19 |
| 25 to 28 | 0 | 31 |
| 29 to 32 | 8 | 3 |
| 33 to 36 | 5 | 15 |
| 37 to 40 | 16 | 25 |
| 41 to 44 | 7 | 6 |
| 45 to 48 | 0 | 1 |
| 49 to 52 | 0 | 6 |
| 53 to 56 | 4 | 22 |
| 57 to 60 | 1 | 33 |
| 61 to 64 | 5 | 10 |
| 65 to 68 | 1 | 41 |
| 69 to 72 | 0 | 21 |
| 73 to 76 | 0 | 11 |
| 77 to 80 | 1 | 5 |
| 81 to 84 | 0 | 22 |
| 85 to 88 | 2 | 6 |
| 89 to 92 | 0 | 7 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 9 |
| 97 to 100 | 2 | 1 |
| 101 to 104 | 0 | 6 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 4 |
| 109 to 112 | 0 | 4 |
| 113 to 116 | 2 | 17 |
| 117 to 120 | 2 | 1 |
| 121 to 124 | 1 | 15 |
| 125 to 128 | 0 | 6 |
| 129 to 132 | 6 | 10 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 3 |
| 137 to 140 | 0 | 5 |
| 141 to 144 | 18 | 34 |
| 145 to 148 | 0 | 5 |
| 149 to 152 | 1 | 22 |
| 153 to 156 | 0 | 3 |
| 157 to 160 | 2 | 14 |
| 161 to 164 | 7 | 0 |
| 165 to 168 | 2 | 1 |
| 169 to 172 | 7 | 51 |
| 173 to 176 | 3 | 4 |
| 177 to 177 | 1 | 5 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
ELAINE: You know what I was thinking today? We get settled maybe we could get the kids a p-u-p-p-y. TAMMY: We can spell, Mom. ELAINE: We can go to the park- Do something together?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 19 are women's.
123 lines from women, 512 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
11 women and 22 men in the cast. 6 women and 12 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 670.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 53 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 19% of the words (1,550), men 81% (6,407).
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
1
Two men
32
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 15% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Guillermo del Toro (man)
- Written by
- Vanessa Taylor (woman), Guillermo del Toro (man)
- Story by
- Guillermo del Toro (man)
- Produced by
- Guillermo del Toro (man), J. Miles Dale (man)
- Shot by
- Dan Laustsen (man)
- Edited by
- Sidney Wolinsky (man)
- Music by
- Alexandre Desplat (man)
- Production design by
- Paul D. Austerberry (man)
- Costumes by
- Luis Sequeira (man)
- Cast by
- Robin D. Cook (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 17 men, 8 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 17 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 11 men, 3 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 3 men, 10 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 5 men, 3 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 3 men, 7 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 3 men, 4 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 44 on average. Men: 56 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Sally Hawkins 41, Octavia Spencer 47
Men
Michael Shannon 43, Michael Stuhlbarg 49, David Hewlett 49, Doug Jones 57, Nick Searcy 58, Nigel Bennett 68, Richard Jenkins 70
Exhibit H: the money
It made 10.0 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $19.5 million
- Box office
- $195 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 177 scenes and 670 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
